Career and Education Opportunities for Court Reporters in Atlanta, Georgia

Court reporters can find both educational opportunities and jobs in the Atlanta, Georgia area. Currently, 780 people work as court reporters in Georgia. This is expected to grow by 30% to 1,010 people by 2016. This is better than the national trend for court reporters, which sees this job pool growing by about 18.3% over the next eight years. Court reporters generally use verbatim methods and equipment to capture, store, and transcribe pretrial and trial proceedings or other information.

The income of a court reporter is about $16 hourly or $34,490 yearly on average in Georgia. In the U.S. as a whole, their income is about $23 hourly or $49,710 annually on average. Court reporters earn less than people working in the category of Administration and Support generally in Georgia and more than people in the Administration and Support category nationally. People working as court reporters can fill a number of jobs, such as: print shop stenographer, deposition reporter, and caption writer.

The Atlanta area is home to ninety-one schools of higher education, including seven within twenty-five miles of Atlanta where you can get a degree as a court reporter. Given that the most common education level for court reporters is an Associate's, or other 2-year degree, you can expect to spend about two years training to become a court reporter if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Court Reporter

Court Reporter video from the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

In general, court reporters use verbatim methods and equipment to capture, store, and transcribe pretrial and trial proceedings or other information. They also includes stenocaptioners who operate computerized stenographic captioning equipment to provide captions of live or prerecorded broadcasts for hearing-impaired viewers.

Court reporters ask speakers to explain inaudible statements. They also furnish transcripts of proceedings upon request of judges or the public. Equally important, court reporters have to transcribe recorded proceedings in accordance with established formats. They are often called upon to record verbatim proceedings of courts and other proceedings, using computerized recording equipment, electronic stenograph machines, or stenomasks. They are expected to take notes in shorthand or use a stenotype or shorthand machine that prints letters on a paper tape. Finally, court reporters file a legible transcript of records of a court case with the court clerk's office.

Every day, court reporters are expected to be able to listen to and understand others in meetings. It is also important that they see details at a very fine level of focus.

It is important for court reporters to verify precision of transcripts by checking copies against original records of proceedings and precision of rulings by checking with judges. They are often called upon to record depositions and other proceedings for attorneys. They also file and store shorthand notes of court session. Somewhat less frequently, court reporters are also expected to record symbols on computer storage media and use computer aided transcription to translate and display them as text.

And finally, they sometimes have to transcribe recorded proceedings in accordance with established formats.

Like many other jobs, court reporters must be reliable and be thorough and dependable.

Similar jobs with educational opportunities in Atlanta include:

Legal Assistant. Assist lawyers by researching legal precedent, investigating facts, or preparing legal documents. Conduct research to support a legal proceeding, to formulate a defense, or to initiate legal action.

Title Examiner. Search real estate records, examine titles, or summarize pertinent legal or insurance details for a variety of purposes. May compile lists of mortgages, contracts, and other instruments pertaining to titles by searching public and private records for law firms, real estate agencies, or title insurance companies.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Court Reporter Training

Kennesaw State University - Kennesaw, GA

Kennesaw State University, 1000 Chastain Rd, Kennesaw, GA 30144-5591. Kennesaw State University is a large university located in Kennesaw, Georgia. It is a public school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 21,340 students and an admission rate of 59%. Kennesaw State University has a bachelor's degree program in Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric which graduated 199 students in 2008.

Reinhardt College - Waleska, GA

Reinhardt College, 7300 Reinhardt College Circle, Waleska, GA 30183-2981. Reinhardt College is a small college located in Waleska, Georgia. It is a private not-for-profit school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 1,048 students and an admission rate of 72%. Reinhardt College has a bachelor's degree program in Mass Communication/Media Studies.

Iverson Business School - Atlanta, GA

Iverson Business School, 6685 Peachtree Industrial, Atlanta, GA 30360. Iverson Business School is a small school located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a private for-profit school with primarily less-than 2-year programs and has 351 students. Iverson Business School has a two to four year program in Court Reporting/Court Reporter.

Brown College of Court Reporting and Medical Transcription, 1900 Emery St Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30318. Brown College of Court Reporting and Medical Transcription is a small college located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a private for-profit school with primarily 2-year programs. It has 191 students and an admission rate of 64%. Brown College of Court Reporting and Medical Transcription has an associate's degree and a two to four year program in Court Reporting/Court Reporter which graduated one and three students respectively in 2008.

Clayton State University - Morrow, GA

Clayton State University, 2000 Clayton State Boulevard, Morrow, GA 30260-0285. Clayton State University is a medium sized university located in Morrow, Georgia. It is a public school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 6,056 students and an admission rate of 46%. Clayton State University has a bachelor's degree program in Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric which graduated twelve students in 2008.

Georgia State University - Atlanta, GA

Georgia State University, 33 gilmer st, Atlanta, GA 30303-3083. Georgia State University is a large university located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is a public school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 28,182 students and an admission rate of 53%. Georgia State University has 2 areas of study related to Court Reporter. They are:

Communication Studies/Speech Communication and Rhetoric, master's degree and doctor's degree which graduated fourteen and one students respectively in 2008.

Journalism, bachelor's degree which graduated 172 students in 2008.

Brenau University - Gainesville, GA

Brenau University, 500 Washington Street SE, Gainesville, GA 30501-3668. Brenau University is a small university located in Gainesville, Georgia. It is a private not-for-profit school with primarily 4-year or above programs. It has 2,551 students and an admission rate of 42%. Brenau University has a bachelor's degree program in Mass Communication/Media Studies which graduated four students in 2008.

CERTIFICATIONS

Registered Professional Reporter:
The Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) program is the only nationally recognized certification program that establishes your competence as a reporter.

Certified Reporting Instructor:
The CRI certification program for teachers of court reporting subjects has been developed to encourage excellence in the educational programs that prepare tomorrow's court reporters.

LICENSES

LOCATION INFORMATION: Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia photo by Evilarry

Atlanta is located in Fulton County, Georgia. It has a population of over 537,958, which has grown by 29.2% over the last ten years. The cost of living index in Atlanta, 94, is below the national average. New single-family homes in Atlanta cost $173,200 on average, which is well above the state average. In 2008, five hundred two new homes were constructed in Atlanta, down from 1,247 the previous year.

The three most popular industries for women in Atlanta are educational services, professional, scientific, and technical services, and health care. For men, it is professional, scientific, and technical services, construction, and accommodation and food services. The average commute to work is about 28 minutes. More than 34.6% of Atlanta residents have a bachelor's degree, which is higher than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 13.8%, is higher than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Atlanta is 11.1%, which is greater than Georgia's average of 10.1%.

The percentage of Atlanta residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 58.7%, is more than both the national and state average. Aarons Tabernacle Church, Welcome Home Baptist Church and Adair Park Church are some of the churches located in Atlanta. The largest religious groups are the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Methodist Church and the Catholic Church.

Atlanta is home to the Martin Luther King Junior Community Center and the Diuid Hills Golf Club as well as Alexander Park and Wesley Avenue Park. Shopping malls in the area include Rio Mall Shopping Center, Collier Heights Plaza Shopping Center and Northside Parkway Shopping Center. Visitors to Atlanta can choose from Country Inn-Stes Atl Dwntwn S, Comfort Inn and Comfort Inn Buckhead North for temporary stays in the area.